Feeding Your Greyhound: The Basics

Everyday care

3 Jan

How much, how often and why they eat like they've never seen food before.

You put the bowl down. You turn to rinse the spoon. You turn back and the bowl is empty, licked clean and being nudged across the floor in case there's a second course hiding underneath. Welcome to feeding a greyhound: Part Olympic event, part hostage negotiation.

Here's what we've learnt about feeding a sighthound, from mealtimes and portions to fussy eaters and the one rule we never bend. Every hound is different, so think of this as what's worked in our houses rather than the final word.

How often and when

Most adult greyhounds do well on two meals a day, morning and evening, at roughly the same time each day. Sighthounds love a routine and their stomachs love it even more. Two smaller meals also sit better than one big one in a deep-chested hound (more on that below).

Leaving food down all day rarely works. It turns some hounds fussy, and it makes it harder to spot the day their appetite changes, which is often the first clue that something's up.

How much, and is it normal to see ribs?

The guide on the bag is a starting point, not a commandment. A UK study of greyhounds under vet care found an average adult weight of 29.7kg, with males averaging 32.3kg and females 27.2kg. That's a lot of variety in one breed, before we even get to lurchers.

So we feed the hound in front of us, not the number on the pack. Here's what we look for:

A waistFrom above, a clear tuck behind the ribs. Greyhounds are meant to look like an egg timer with legs.
A hint of ribsA few faintly visible in the right light is normal. Every rib, the hip bones and the spine on show means they need a bit more.
The feel testYou should feel ribs easily under a thin layer, without pressing. If you're hunting for them, ease off the extras.

At some point a kindly stranger will look at the ribs, look at you and ask if you're feeding them. You are. They're built like a coat hanger with ambition. If you're genuinely unsure, your vet can body condition score them in moments.

What to feed

This is where owners get properly passionate. Some of us feed a good complete dry food, some feed wet, some mix, some go raw. We're not going to crown a winner, because it depends on your hound, your budget and your tolerance for handling tripe at 7am.

What we will say: Read the label, and if a named meat isn't near the top, keep looking. Many greyhounds from the racing industry arrive having eaten something quite different in kennels, so it can take a little trial and error.

Change food slowly. A greyhound gut treats a sudden switch the way we treat a surprise Monday meeting: Badly, and with consequences for the carpet. Mix the new food in over a week or so, and give it a couple of weeks before you judge it.

Why they eat like that

Kennel life. When dinner's a competition, you eat fast or you don't eat. Your hound doesn't know yet that nobody is coming to steal their bowl. Some slow down after a few months. Some never do.

A slow feeder bowl or a scatter of kibble on a mat can turn a nine-second dinner into a two-minute one. That matters, because gulping goes hand in hand with the thing every deep-chested breed owner should know about: Bloat.

You'll still see raised bowls recommended for tall dogs. We don't use them for bloat reasons: A large US study of big and giant breeds (not greyhounds) linked raised feed bowls to a higher bloat risk. B is for Bowls covers the comfort versus risk debate properly.

Fussy eaters, treats and tummy upsets

Then there's the other kind of greyhound. One day they eat with enthusiasm. The next, they stare at the bowl as if you've served wallpaper paste. Skipping a meal or two in the first days in a new home is common. A little warm water or a spoon of something tasty on top usually does it, but a hound who stops eating for more than a day, or seems flat, needs a vet.

Treats count. Those "just one" biscuits add up fast in a hound with no spare padding to hide them. And some human food is genuinely dangerous: Cooked bones, chocolate, grapes, raisins, onions and garlic among them. Toxic Foods and Household Items has the full list.

As for the dreaded tummy upset, most of us have been there, usually at 3am, usually on the good rug. Sighthound Tummy Troubles covers what's normal and when it's a vet job.

Feed them well, keep dinner calm and let them sleep it off. Then prepare to be told, with a long, dramatic sigh, that breakfast is at least four hours overdue.